What are the peculiarities of running a small business?

(to have experts on the staff; to hire expert advice from outside consultants and bureaux; to be aware of sophisticated techniques; to solve particular problems; to get right up-to-date; to enlarge business; to be outpaced by somebody)

Exercise 5

Match the terms on the left with an appropriate explanation on the right. Fill in the grid below.

1.	board meeting	A	drawers or cupboards for storing records (letters, memos, etc.), usually filed in alphabetical order
2.	catalogue	B	the method of analysing and recording business information by means of computer
3.	chairman	C	a meeting of the Board of Directors, group of organisers in control of a business
4.	Electronic Data Processing (E.D.P.)	D	executive in charge of promoting sales of the firm’s goods
5.	filing cabinets	E	the top executive of a company, concerned with policy and long-range aspects. He presides at or chairs board meetings; hence his name.
6.	rival	F	the executive director in charge of the day-to-day running of a company
7.	Sales Manager	G	a group of persons working together
8.	staff	H	executive in charge of production of goods
9.	Managing Director	I	a person who competes with another for a prize, a reward, success, etc.
10.	Production Manager	J	a list of goods for sale, often illustrated

 

1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.	9.	10.

 

Exercise 6

Be ready to give a story line of the company. Use the word combinations mentioned above. Cover the following points:

1. The founders of the company.

2. The beginning of the company.

3. The products of Harper & Grant Ltd.

4. The plans of the management team.

5. Modernising a business.

6. A small business and its problems.

Unit 1

New Markets Are Vital

Phrase list

Listen to the tape and practise the pronunciation of the following words and word combinations, quote the sentences in which they are used in the unit. Consult a dictionary and translate them into Russian.

income per capita

to keep up with something

to convince somebody to do something / in something

to back somebody up

to be a waste of time and money for very little profit

the scheme to do something

the expense is worth something

an attempt to break into the market (to open up a new market)

the Board of Trade

to be liable for duty

shipping facilities

to be trans-shipped via Rotterdam

red tape

to be involved in getting an import licence

to sort out an import licence

to have (to make) a field survey

preliminary desk research

to work up a demand for goods

on balance

to want the expense of doing something

to do something in the home (foreign) market

to live on old markets

to have a different way of looking at things

to feel strongly about something

to be forward-looking / to have an old-fashioned outlook

to cool somebody’s temper

to be bound to do something

to get fed up with something

to accept the resignation

a reservation for a first-class flight

PRE-LISTENING

Task 1

Listen to the introduction to the unit. Answer the following questions and be ready to give a story line. Use the word combinations in brackets.

What kind of decision does Hector Grant have to make?

(the Managing Director; to allow somebody to do something; John Martin; the Sales Manager; to go on an expensive fact-finding tour of a country; Africa; Abraca)

What was the matter that John Martin was discussing with Peter Wiles?

(the Production Manager; The Times newspaper; the recent discovery of oil; in Abraca; to find out; to export to; the capital city, Djemsa; a lot of new government offices; to be built; to open up a new market)

Is Hector Grant positive about opening up a new market in Africa?

(H.G.; one’s staff; to use one’s initials; to remember a disastrous attempt; to export to a country in South America; to lose a lot of money; to be inclined to be cautious, a bit worried about; the difficulties involved and the expense)

Task 2

Give the English equivalents for the following word combinations:

§ стоить того, чтобы сделать что-либо (о расходах)	§ быть связанным с получением лицензии на импорт
§ попытка пробиться на рынок	§ транспортные средства
§ быть перегруженным в Ротердаме	§ разобраться с получением лицензии
§ идти в ногу с чем-либо (поспевать за чем-либо)	§ изучение спроса путем сбора информации на месте
§ убедить кого-либо сделать что-либо	§ подлежать обложению пошлиной
§ Министерство торговли	§ доход на душу населения
§ обзор, подготовленный в офисе фирмы с привлечением всех статистических данных	§ быть напрасной тратой времени и денег при очень малой прибыли
§ добиться спроса на товары	§ иметь передовые взгляды
§ бюрократическая волокита	§ поддержать кого-либо
§ принять отставку	§ охладить чей-либо пыл

LISTENING

 

Exercise 1

You are going to hear John Martin, the Sales Manager, talking to Peter Wiles, the Production Manager, about opening up a new market in Abraca. Before you listen to the conversation look at these statements. After you have listened to the tape determine whether these statements are true (T) or false (F). Explain why.

1.	John Martin is impressed by the information from the article in The Times which says that income per capita is rising fast in Abraca.
2.	Peter Wiles always follows the events in all newly independent countries.
3.	John thinks that due to the recent discovery of oil in Abraca a lot of new offices in its capital, Djemsa, will apparently be built.
4.	The Sales Manager is sure that Harper & Grant Ltd. must export more. He considers Abraca, in particular its capital, to be a good market for their furniture and office equipment.
5.	The Production Manager is positive about breaking into the new export markets because he believes that they are crazy not to look for more foreign business.
6.	The Managing Director is against a new export market as he supposes it’s all a big waste of time and money for very little profit.

 

Exercise 2